


the space between

by comebackbehere



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/F, M/M, single!mom evie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2019-01-05 15:16:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12192411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/comebackbehere/pseuds/comebackbehere
Summary: The adventures of Evie, Mal, and Sebastian continue.





	the space between

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Much like I do with every universe I create, this is a separate fic where I plan to put all the oneshots I write for this universe. Hope y'all enjoy them :) Gotta kick this first one off with a little angst though ;)

 

 

 

**mis-take**  
**noun**  
**1\. an action or judgment that is misguided or wrong**

 

The sunlight streams evenly through the blinds of the bedroom, and the man in the bed groans as he turns his face into his pillow in an attempt to escape them. Just as he feels himself starting to drift off again, hands slowly pull down the thick blanket and he can't help but whine as his eyes slowly flutter open. Immediately, a small smile crosses his face as he is greeted by the sight of his girlfriend looking down at him; between those eyes and ruby lips, Doug isn't quite sure how he ended up so lucky. With ease, he wraps his arms around her and lazily pulls her onto the bedbed.

 

"Good morning, handsome." Melody whispers.

 

 

Doug yawns with a small grin, "G'morning."

 

 

"I made breakfast." Melody murmurs as she presses a soft kiss to his lips. "It really isn't too much, just eggs and toast. We're a little short on cash and..."

 

 

"I'm sure it's perfect." Doug assures her with a quick peck before he pulls away and slides himself off the mattress. "As for the money, we'll be better soon. I promise. Once the business takes off, we'll be dining like kings and queens."

 

 

"Oh?" Melody hums as she trails Doug to their little kitchen. "And what will we eat?"

 

 

"The finest eggs, given by the best chickens. The best bacon we can send for. And endless stacks of pancakes." Doug chirps as he plops in a chair and looks down at his plate. "And of course, coffee imported from the best sellers on the market."

 

 

Melody giggles as she sits across from him and grabs her abandoned magazine, "Is that your way of saying you'd like for me to make you some coffee?"

 

 

"Please." Doug nods as he bites into a piece of toast before Melody stands and slides her magazine across the table, the man gaps in awe as he looks down at the page and right into the eyes of his ex-girlfriend. "Oh."

 

 

Doug swallows hard and cringes as the toast scrapes his throat. He can't help but stare, even after all the years they've been apart, Doug is still completely taken by Evie's beauty. But this time, it isn't her bright beam or slim figure that holds his gaze but instead the tiny figure beside her. For a moment, the air around him disappears and he can't help but cough up a piece of his breakfast as he looks to the child; the little boy is Evie's son, the little boy is _his_ son. He has a son. In the back of his mind, he always knew that his child was out there but having it stare him square in the face causes an ache to build in his chest.

 

 

Inside of that ache, regrets swim free. The reality of his mistakes ring in the back of his mind, and all he wants to go back in time and fix them.

 

 

-

 

 

**dream**  
**noun**  
**1\. contemplate the possibility of doing something or that something might be the case.**

 

 

"Hi. I'm here to pick up some precious cargo..."

 

 

Evie giggles as she looks away from her sketches to see Mal in the doorway of her office, "Oh? Precious cargo? And who am I being delivered to exactly?"

 

 

"Some lovesick chick. I don't know. I didn't ask for details." Mal shrugs as she saunters into the room with her hands stuffed deep in her slack pockets. "I do believe she mentioned something about being absolutely _crazy_ about you."

 

 

"Did she? Well, I can't wait to see her so I can tell her I'm just as crazy about her." Evie whispers, and she immediately feels her breath catch as Mal reaches her and leans over to press a kiss to her forehead. "Hi, baby.  How was work?"

 

 

"Long. Exhausting. _Boring_. Lots of layout issues with next months shoot." Mal sighs as she props herself on the edge of Evie's desk. "Whoa, babe! Those sketches are amazing. Are they for the new wedding line?"

 

 

"They are." Evie beams as she straightens up in her seat and looks down at her work. "I've drawn out a few ideas for gowns, but I really want to put out a few different options. Seb suggested I should do an entire bowtie line dedicated to women."

 

 

Mal arches an eyebrow in thought, "Kid has good taste, you should have him design them."

 

 

"Oh, you should _see_ his sketchbook. He already has a thousand ideas for me." Evie replies with a look of amusement as she flicks her sketchbook shut. "He wanted to go over them tomorrow after school."

 

 

"Wow. Your business partner is planning ahead _and_ he already has a showing for you? Yours is so much better than mine. Wanna swap?" Mal pouts as she stands and offers her hand to her girlfriend. "I promise you that he knows how to use the bathroom on his own and he's an excellent cuddler."

 

 

"I don't want Dragon, he's your dog." Evie smirks as she accepts the hand and allows herself to be pulled to her feet before she ducks her head to press a kiss to the blonde's pout. "Don't pout, my love. Come on, Sebastian is waiting for us."

 

 

Mal perks up at the thought, "My place tonight?"

 

 

"He has..."

 

 

"Karate practice tomorrow at five, I know." Mal assures her as she grabs Evie's jacket from the coat rack. "Hence the reason why his uniform is washed and ready to go, he left it at my place last Thursday. I hope you don't mind, but I had it dry cleaned."

 

 

"You are a _dream_." Evie sighs as Mal helps her into her jacket. "It's official, you're not allowed to go anywhere. You're mine forever."

 

 

Mal shrugs in response, "You're not going to hear a complaint from me."

 

 

-

 

 

"Mama!"

 

 

Evie lights up as her son powers across the room and barrels into her arms, "Hi, my little prince. I missed you so much today."

 

 

"I missed you so much too." Sebastian chirps against her stomach before he pulls away and tilts his head to look up at her. "Home time?"

 

 

"We're going to Mal's tonight, if that's okay with you..." Evie trails off with a laugh as soon as Sebastian begins to nod eagerly while he bounces on the tips of his toes. "Well, alright then. She's outside taking a call, but she should be done soon so go get your stuff while I say bye to your uncles."

 

 

Evie ruffles his dark hair and watches him take off before she wanders off to the kitchen where Jay and Carlos are working to fix their shirts and hair. A snort leaves her and she shakes her head as she watches the pair; she wishes they would just admit it already, she just hopes they find whatever peace they're looking for. Carlos is the first to recover and he immediately moves to greet her, and Evie playfully arches an eyebrow at Jay as she is curled in Carlos' strong embrace. As soon as she is free, Carlos brushes around her to scoop Sebastian up as the little boy comes galloping into the room.

 

 

"How was he?" Evie grins.

 

 

"As perfect as ever." Jay shrugs as he presses a kiss to the top of her head. "We finished his homework a little early so we did end up giving him some ice cream..."

 

 

"Double scoop, Mommy!" Sebastian squeals as he looks at his mother upside down, and Evie bites her lip to keep from snapping at Carlos to turn her son upright. "Mama, can we go now? I wanna see Mal."

 

 

Jay arches a teasing eyebrow, "Mal?"

 

 

"We're gonna go have a sleepover at Mal's, Uncle Jay!" Sebastian chirps as he squirms happily on Carlos' shoulder. "She makes us pancakes in the morning and she puts strawberries and blueberries on mama's and she gives me _extra_ chocolate."

 

 

"Sounds like you have it made, little man." Jay laughs. "Well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow when we come pick him up for karate."

 

 

Evie flushes slightly, "Mal is gonna take him."

 

 

"Oh. Wow." Jay scoffs as his eyebrows shoot up and he swaps a look with Carlos who pouts at the information. "Alright. I guess we'll be making that movie, Los. Just call us when you need us, you know we're always free to help out."

 

 

"And that is why we adore you." Evie coos as she stands on the tips of her toes to press a kiss to Jay's cheek. "Alright, if you wouldn't mind so kindly handing over my little prince."

 

 

"Fine." Carlos sighs. "Bye guys."

 

 

"Bye Uncles!"

 

 

Sebastian chatters happily to his mother as they leave the apartment and climb into the waiting elevator that slowly makes its way to the street. Evie simply listens attentively with a look of pure adoration on her face; Sebastian has always been a passionate child, and every year he gets older that passion seems to grow. It makes her both proud and excited, she can't wait to see the man her son becomes. As soon as they reach the car, Evie arches an eyebrow as she sees Mal leaning back against the hood and Sebastian squeals excitedly as he hurries to throw himself into Mal's ready arms.

 

 

"What's up, little dude?" Mal chuckles as she spins him around.

 

 

Sebastian squeezes her neck before he pulls back to beam at her, "Mama said we're gonna sleep at your house tonight."

 

 

"That is the plan." Mal nods as she playfully narrows her eyes. "You cool with that?"

 

 

"Super cool." Sebastian chirps.

 

 

"Thank goodness. I mean, I have to make waffles _and_ bacon in the morning and I don't think it's possible for me to add in the chocolate chips alone." Mal sighs as she settles him on her hip before she reaches to open the car door. "Know anyone who can give me a hand?"

 

 

"I can give you _two_ hands." Sebastian beams.

 

 

"You, my little dude, are a lifesaver."

 

 

Evie watches the exchange with rapt attention, it amazes her every time the two of them interact. Before Mal, dating was near impossible; every guy or girl just about ran for the hills at the sound of Sebastian's name and if it wasn't him then it was Evie who somehow managed to push them away. But Mal? Mal is in for the long haul, she wants them forever. Evie smiles at the thought of it, she can't imagine being without this quirky, driven, and loving woman who had barged into her life nine months ago.

 

 

"I've lost my girl to the clouds again." Mal hums as she approaches her, and Evie simply rolls her eyes at the faux concern that appears on Mal's face. "Hey, stop disappearing into the clouds...I like you here."

 

 

"Me disappear into the clouds without _you_? I don't think that's possible." Evie teases as she ducks her head to hover her lips a breath away from Mal's. "Something tells me you'd tear apart every cloud to find me."

 

 

"Every cloud, every rainbow, and everything in between." Mal whispers as their lips meet.

 

 

"Stop sucking each other's faces off!"

 

 

Mal pulls away with a huff, "Hey, you ruined a moment! We have one rule, no interrupting kissing time, little dude."

 

 

"You're kissing my mom, and I wanna go home. I don't listen to rules, Mal," Sebastian shrugs as he reaches out to close the door. "I make them. Let's go."

 

 

"Did he...?" Mal blinks in shock as Sebastian slams the door shut. "What just happened?"

 

 

"He's been watching a lot of Riverdale with Carlos." Evie explains with a look of amusement as she drops a quick peck to Mal's frowning lips. "He has been heavily influenced by a character named Veronica Lodge."

 

 

Mal shakes her head as she moves to open Evie's door before she skips around to climb into the driver's seat, "Movie night?"

 

 

"Can we watch Riverdale?" Sebastian pleads. "I only have two episodes till the last one."

 

 

"How about something that will make you sleepy? Possibly a French film?" Mal suggests as she glances into the rearview mirror to watch as Sebastian's face twists. "Oh, or one of those silent black and white films!"

 

 

"They're so _boring_." Sebastian whines.

 

 

"Alright, alright. Fine. They do kinda put me to sleep. How about we watch Frozen?" Mal offers, and she laughs softly as she notices the way both Sebastian and Evie hesitate. "I'll even sing along to with you guys this time."

 

 

"Deal."

 

 

"I knew you'd eventually see it my way, little dude. Nice bargaining with you." Mal hums as she glances briefly to Evie who is digging through her large purse. "What exactly are you looking for in there?"

 

 

"My phone has been going off since I left the office. I just want to make sure it isn't something involving my upcoming pop up show." Evie sighs as she continues to push things aside with a look of annoyance. "I need to clean this out."

 

 

"What? No way! You carry all the important things that we need." Mal reminds her as she glances briefly at Evie who giggles and scrunches her nose. "I'm serious. You have napkins, toy cars, playdough, animal crackers, juice boxes..."

 

 

Evie laughs as she answers her ringing phone, "Hello?"

 

 

_"Evie?"_

 

 

Suddenly, her night crashes down around her.

 

 

-

 

 

**lose**  
**verb**  
**1\. be deprived of or cease to have or retain (something).**

 

 

Everything is so _loud_. Doug flinches as he sits in the coffee shop and tries to remember why he once wanted to live here. And by here he means New York. The big apple, the city of dreams; the city where his entire life fell apart, where he lost his first love. And now, that mistake and his first love are why he has returned. Doug had begged Evie for days to meet up, he just wants to talk; he wants to apologize, he wants to know how she is, he wants to know about his son. _His_ boy. The idea of it brings a small smile to his face as he looks down at the milky view of his lukewarm coffee.

 

 

He imagines that his son is just like Evie, he doesn't expect anything else. Evie is a strong force with an equally strong personality and he can't think of anyone else he'd rather have raising his child. The thought causes him to falter as he remembers who is waiting back in Chicago; Melody isn't thrilled about this visit, but she understands. Or at least she's _trying_ to. Doug raises his head as the bell rings and he feels his heart speed up as Evie walks into the coffee shop with a baseball cap on and large sunglasses; he isn't sure what he expected her to do when she sees him, but he doesn't expect a frown.

 

 

Doug fumbles to his feet as  Evie moves through the tables and towards him, "Evie. Wow. Hi."

 

 

"Doug." Evie greets as she lifts her sunglasses.

 

 

Just like some type of spell, Doug suddenly feels like he's drowning. One look into those soft brown eyes, and all the memories come rushing back. He remembers what it was like to love her, what it felt like to be _loved_ by her. And it hurts. It makes him ache because he gave her up, he walked away. Evie is stoic as she sits down and sets her purse aside, and Doug simply drops carelessly into his as he struggles to find the right words to say to her. On the tip of his tongue are the words that he had thought he had swallowed down years ago.

 

 

"Hi." Doug breathes out.

 

 

"You already said that." Evie snaps as she looks around the little coffee shop with a hesitant expression. "Why did you ask me to meet you here, Doug? What do you want?"

 

 

Doug blinks slowly as he reaches up to fiddle with his glasses, "I uh...do you want coffee?"

 

 

"No. No, I don't want coffee. I don't even want to be here." Evie admits as she folds her arms to rest on the table. "But you kept calling. I figured if we met you'd get the hint and leave me alone."

 

 

"I wasn't trying to bother you, I just wanted to see you." Doug sighs as he reaches across the table to settle a gentle hand on her arm before he gives it a small squeeze. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

 

 

Evie glances down at the hand and quickly pulls her arms away, "It's been almost seven years, Doug. So, what is this _really_ about?"

 

 

"My girlfriend bought this magazine, she buys them whenever we have a few extra bucks to spare," Doug begins as he curls his hands around his coffee mug. "There was an article about you, about my son..."

 

 

"My son." Evie cuts in. "'He's _my_ son."

 

 

"Evie..."

 

 

"He's mine, Doug. He's _always_ been mine. I raised him, I changed his diapers, I held him when he cried, I was there for his first day of school, his first broken bone, his first tooth, his first _everything_." Evie hisses as she slaps a hand on the table. "So don't you dare sit there and call him _your_ son."

 

 

Doug holds his hands up nervously, "Okay. You're right. I'm sorry."

 

 

"I won't ask again," Evie growls. "What do you want?"

 

 

"I want to know about our... _your_ son." Doug replies with a small wince as he drops his gaze to stare down into his mug. "Just the basic stuff, if you wouldn't mind. What's his name? What does he like to do? What's his favorite color? Does he like science?"

 

 

"Doug," Evie begins in a nervous, hesitant tone. "I don't think this was a good idea, I think I should go."

 

 

Doug gaps as Evie stands, "Wait! I-I have a right to know about him!"

 

 

"You gave up the right to know about him the day you walked out that door." Evie sneers as she grabs her purse and flashes him a look that strikes through his chest. "Don't call me again, Doug. And stay the hell away from my son."

 

 

All Doug can do is watch as Evie leaves, and he wonders if this is the same pain she felt the day he left her alone in their apartment.

 

 

-

 

 

**heart-ache**  
**noun**  
**1\. emotional anguish or grief, typically caused by the lose or absence of someone loved.**

 

 

"He's back? He's _here_?"

 

 

"Yeah." Evie whispers with a wince.

 

 

Jay hisses angrily as he paces through Evie's spacious living room, "I'm going to hunt that fucker down and the second I get my hands on him I'm going to beat the ever loving shit out of him and..."

 

 

"Jay," Carlos scolds. "No."

 

 

"No? Carlos, are you forgetting that he _abandoned_ our pregnant best friend? He broke her heart! Me beating him senseless should be the least of his worries." Jay scoffs as he curls his hands into fists. "What does Mal think about all of this?"

 

 

"She doesn't know." Evie admits. "I hung up on Doug the first night he called, and eventually I answered and he begged to meet with me. I just thought he'd leave me alone once he realized that he has no chance of being in Sebastian's life. Yet he still hasn't stopped texting me since I left him."

 

 

"Is he back to stalking you? That little freak has been a pain in my ass since the moment he moved to our school our sophomore year." Jay growls as he crosses his arms over his chest and furrows his brow. "Eves, lemme do this for you. Let me take care of it, and get him out of our lives for good."

 

 

Evie clenches her jaw as her phone vibrates on the coffee table, "He's not going anywhere, Jay. He wants answers to questions that are none of his business, and I don't know what to do. I don't know how to fix this."

 

 

"Oh no." Carlos squeaks.

 

 

Jay falters, "Please don't."

 

 

But the tears fall anyway, and they come hard and fast. Jay slinks towards the couch while Carlos simply vaults over the back before they squish their sobbing best friend between them. They did this a lot when she was still with Doug, they swear that the man constantly lives with his foot in his mouth. By the time her sobs become hiccups, the door of the apartment swings open and Evie doesn't have a chance to wipe her tears before Sebastian comes flying around the corner only to stop short as he takes in his mother's messy makeup and her expression of pure devastation.

 

 

"Mommy?" Sebastian whimpers.

 

 

Just the sound of his voice, so pure and perfect, causes another sob to escape as she buries her face in her hands. Without so much as a faltering movement, the little boy powers across the room to throw himself into Evie's lap before he cuddles against her and tucks his head beneath her chin. He tries to comfort her, but every word he says is just another stab of pain; she doesn't know how she's going to protect her baby boy. It terrifies her, she isn't prepared for something like this; Doug has always been a fleeting thought to her.

 

 

"Who made you cry?" Sebastian demands as he scowls angrily. "Tell me, Mama. Uncle Jay can go beat 'em up."

 

 

"Little dude, you literally left me to...babe?"

 

 

Evie looks up with watery eyes, "Hey, baby."

 

 

"What's wrong?" Mal questions as she looks between the four pair of wide eyes, but everyone is quick to fall silent as they consider their answers. "Somebody better tell me why my girlfriend is crying or I'm going to rip apart this..."

 

 

"We need to talk." Evie whimpers.

 

 

Mal falters as her eyes widen, "Like, _that_ talk?"

 

 

"No. Baby, no. Of course not." Evie sniffles as she wraps her arms around her son and presses soft kisses to his messy dark locks. "Seb, how about you go and pick up some pizza with your uncles? Extra cheese for me?"

 

 

"But..." Sebastian hesitates. "You're crying."

 

 

"I'm okay, little prince. I promise. I just need to talk to Mal about something." Evie assures him with a soft, watery smile before he returns it. "So, you go get some pizza and when you come back I'll be all better."

 

 

"Promise?" Sebastian whispers as he holds his pinky up.

 

 

Evie smiles as she curls their pinkies together and brings them to her lips, "I promise. Our knight is gallantly going to save me."

 

 

Sebastian smiles softly and lifts himself to press a kiss to her nose before he slides from her lap and gathers his jacket. As he guides his uncles to the door, he glances back at Evie and blows her a kiss before he turns to leave. As soon as the door shuts behind the trio, Mal crosses the room and sits on the coffee table in front of her girlfriend as she observes her. For a moment, Evie simply admires her before her phone buzzes and she winces as she flashes it a quick glance.

 

 

"I...something happened." Evie murmurs.

 

 

Mal arches an eyebrow slowly, "Are you okay?"

 

 

"No." Evie admits as she reaches a hand out, and Mal is quick to accept it as she allows herself to be pulled onto the couch so Evie can twist into her side. "Somebody called me the other night and I tried to ignore it, but they wouldn't stop. So, I finally just agreed to meet up with them for coffee and it didn't go well."

 

 

"Was it your mother?" Mal demands. "Because if she is the reason you're upset then I will release an article that will destroy her agency and..."

 

 

"It's Doug." Evie cuts in, and Mal frowns in confusion. "He's...Mal, he's Sebastian's father. He practically hunted me down."

 

 

"What do you mean _hunted_?"  Mal hisses.

 

 

Evie shivers at her girlfriend's icy tone, "He somehow got my number. He's always been good with computers, and he's practically an expert at tracking me..."

 

 

"Evie," Mal breathes out as she closes her eyes for a brief moment before she opens them once more with a flex of her jaw. "I need you to tell me what this guy wants, and where he is. I'll take care of it. Just give me his information."

 

 

"I assume he's holed up in a hotel somewhere. I-I met with him this morning." Evie admits and she winces as she sees Mal look to her with an expression of disapproval. "I thought that I could convince him to just go, I thought I could keep him away from my son."

 

 

"E," Mal whispers as she reaches out to catch a tear that trails down Evie's cheek. "You should've taken someone with you. I'm not saying he would've gotten violent, but he _could've_. From what Jay and Carlos have told me about him, which isn't that much, this guy sounds like a downright creep."

 

 

"He can be sweet." Evie protests as she shakes her head and sucks in a shuddery breath at Mal's look of surprise. "My son is half of him, whether I want to acknowledge that or not. There's a part of me that will always defend Doug because Sebastian carries his DNA."

 

 

"Babe, that kid is all _you_." Mal chuckles as she reaches out to pull Evie's hand to her lips before she scatters kisses along her knuckles. "He has your beautiful eyes, your sweet laugh, he scrunches his nose when he's mad like you do, he kicks in his sleep, and he has a weird obsession with blue."

 

 

Evie giggles as she ducks her head, "It's a great color."

 

 

"It is." Mal hums as she presses a gentle finger beneath Evie's chin to guide her head up. "He is all you, Evie. You raised him, _you_ made him into the kid he is. Doug? The bastard is nothing more than a sperm donor who blessed you with a fucking awesome kid."

 

 

"I'm scared, Mal." Evie mutters.

 

 

"I know you are, E." Mal sighs as she runs her gaze over Evie's expression. "But I promise I will protect you and Sebastian to the best of my abilities. I think we should contact my lawyer, Jane's mom is the best in the business. She'll be able to give us all the details you'll need to know about getting full custody."

 

 

Evie goes rigid in horror, "Custody?"

 

 

"I know it sounds terrifying, and I'm hoping the asshole goes away without a fight but we need to be ready for anything." Mal explains with a look of displeasure. "So, let me contact the lawyer, and we'll go from there."

 

 

"I can't lose him, Mal." Evie whimpers. "If I lose him, I lose everything."

 

 

"You are _not_ going to lose him, Evie." Mal says, and Evie bites her lip at the firm tone her girlfriend uses as her grip tightens. "Like I said, I'll take care of this part. I'll take care of you and Sebastian, okay?"

 

 

"Promise?" Evie sniffles.

 

 

"Always." Mal nods. "I will always protect you guys."

 

 

-

 

 

**hold-out**  
**noun**  
**1\. an act of resisting something or refusing to accept what is offered.**

 

 

Things go from bad to worse quickly. Evie is barely able to process everything before Doug returns with pleas and apologies. She tries to avoid him; she changes her number, keeps a guard posted outside her office building with a photo of Doug, and Mal picks her up every night. Except for this Friday evening. Evie feels a chill run down her spine as she bids her guard a goodnight and easily makes her way to the parking garage. She's halfway to her car when she sees him, her entire demeanor changes as she feels the fear turn to rage; he has no right to disrupt her life after all this time, he has no right to be here.

 

 

"Doug," Evie snaps as she approaches him. "What part of leave me alone is so hard for you to understand? I feel like we're back in high school."

 

 

Doug winces as he looks to her with tired eyes, "I just want to _talk_. I want to explain why I walked out, I-I want to learn about the child you raised. _Our_ child. Eves, please. Just give me five minutes, okay?"

 

 

"I'll give you five minutes to disappear because I'm going back to my office and calling my guard." Evie scoffs as she turns on her heel. "You really don't want to be around when Aziz shows up, Doug. He doesn't take kindly to his evenings being disrupted by stalkers."

 

 

"I know his name!" Doug calls after her.

 

 

Evie waves him off with a sneer, "Sure you do."

 

 

"Sebastian."

 

 

Evie turns to face him with wide eyes, "Who told you that?"

 

 

"I've been doing my research." Doug replies with a small shrug. "Do you know how much information about our son is all over the internet? I know where he goes to school, what he's allergic to, and what he wore last Tuesday. I don't like that people can just look him up and see these things..."

 

 

"Are you serious? Are you really going to try and tell me how to parent _my_ child? You have no say in any of this, Doug." Evie reminds him as she moves to quickly close the distance between them. "You're going to stay away from him, do you understand me?"

 

 

"He's my son." Doug points out.

 

 

"He wasn't your son two weeks ago, Doug. You didn't even know about him, did you?"  Evie demands, and a laugh of disbelief leaves her as he sheepishly ducks his head. "No. You didn't. Because you didn't care."

 

 

"I _do_ care..."

 

 

"Yeah, about seven years too late." Evie whispers as she shakes her head. "I won't give you the chance to hurt him, Doug. I _refuse_. We've done just fine without you, we certainty don't need you now. Just go back to your life so we can go back to ours, you're putting unnecessary stress on yourself."

 

 

"Unnecessary?" Doug squeaks. "Evie, I came out here because  I thought there would be a chance that you'd let me meet Sebastian. I thought you'd be fair..."

 

 

"Fair?" Evie jumps in. "You want to talk about being _fair_? Were you fair when you walked out on us? Was it fair I struggled for months trying to raise him in a shitty apartment with no money? Is it fair that I've been a single mom for the last six years because you're a selfish coward? No. It isn't. But guess what, Doug...life isn't fair."

 

 

Doug looks at her with an expression of sadness, "What happened to you?"

 

 

"I became a mother." Evie replies as her own expression hardens a little further. "And I will do _whatever_ it takes to protect my child from harm. So once again, leave us alone. We're better off without you, we always have been."

 

 

"Evie..."

 

 

The chime of her phone catches her attention and Evie pulls it out to see Mal's picture flash across her screen and she answers it with a small frown, "Hey, babe. I was just on my way to pick up Sebastian and then we'll head over."

 

 

Doug blinks in shock.

 

 

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just got caught up with a sketch." Evie murmurs as she looks away from her ex-boyfriend before a blush spreads across her face. "I promise I'm not working too hard, and you're one to speak. I'll see you soon, okay? Okay. I love you."

 

 

Evie releases a breath of relief as Mal ends the call and Doug seems to sink into himself as the realization collapses at his feet. The pair stand in silence and Evie looks to the time on her phone before she meets Doug's devastated gaze. There was a time when that look could make her melt, but that was long before she had a child to raise and a woman who loved everything about her. Time has trickled by, things are different, and Evie can tell that Doug is having a hard time grasping that.

 

 

"I'm building a beautiful life for him," Evie whispers. "He's the smartest kid in his class, and he dresses better than any six-year-old I know..."

 

 

Doug laughs softly at her words, "That doesn't surprise me."

 

 

"He has a good, _full_ life. He has people who love him, and people who will always protect him." Evie continues. "He's okay, Doug. But you being here? If he finds out about you, it would completely throw him off. He wouldn't understand."

 

 

"This Mal," Doug mumbles. "She's replaced me?"

 

 

"There was no one to replace, Doug. Sebastian only has ever known me, I'm his mom. _I'm_ his parent.  But Mal? Mal is filling in the gaps that I left open, the gaps I can't fill." Evie explains as she flushes slightly. "She loves him so much, and he loves her too."

 

 

"And me?"

 

 

Evie sighs and looks to him sadly, "You're nothing more than a blank space in his life, Doug."

 

 

"I want to be more." Doug admits as he reaches up to fiddle with his glasses. "I want to be a part of his life, Evie. I want to be a father to my son, don't I at least deserve a chance to do that? He needs me."

 

 

"He doesn't, Doug," Evie scoffs. "He's happy. He's okay."

 

 

"Does he even know I'm here?" Doug demands.

 

 

Evie puffs out a breath of annoyance as her phone rings, "I need to go."

 

 

"Evie, wait," Doug pleads as he reaches for her as soon as she passes by, but she simply stumbles away from him with a look of slight fear. "You didn't answer my question...does he know I'm here?"

 

 

"No." Evie breathes out. "No, and he won't."

 

 

Doug watches as she climbs into her car and leaves; Sebastian doesn't know yet, but he will and Doug is going to make sure of that.

 

 

-

 

 

**pro-tect**  
**verb**  
**1\. to keep safe from harm.**

 

 

"This fabric is beautiful." Evie breathes out.

 

 

Ruby smiles excitedly and nods, "That's what I thought."

 

 

"Order a few samples, I want to see what I can do with it," Evie orders as she smiles softly at her assistant who nods eagerly and turns away to do as she is told. "Ruby, make sure you order by the bundle!"

 

 

"Consider it done!"

 

 

Evie turns her attention back to her tablet as Ruby bustles off; her wedding line is nearing the finishing stretch and she can't wait to finally release a preview of it. A few weeks have passed since her last conversation with Doug, and Evie is beginning to think she's free; she just hopes she's pushed Doug away for now. Someday she'll tell Sebastian about him, that much she knows, but right now she wants him to be happy and be free of the burden of having to worry about something so trivial and confusing.

 

 

"Evie!"

 

 

Wide eyes glance up as Ruby bursts through the door again, "Problem with the order?"

 

 

"No, I just received a call from the headmaster at Sebastian's school," Ruby begins as she approaches her boss who pauses in slight fear. "There's been an...incident. Apparently someone showed up and upset Sebastian?"

 

 

She wishes she could say that she stayed calm, but the fear that radiated through her body is something she couldn't describe. Her tablet fell limply to her desk as she jumped from her seat and took off towards the elevator; her heart is in her throat the entire ride down and she barely gets out an order to her driver before she dives into the backseat. By the time she reaches the private school, a thin sheen of sweat glistens on her forehead as she hurries out of the car and towards the courtyard where paparazzi are swarmed.

 

 

Evie whimpers in horror as she makes out the familiar voice of her best friend, and she knows who it is. She can feel it. The paparazzi circle a pair, and Evie knows this is going to be splashed all over the web within the hour; she's used to this, this school attracts a lot of buzz due to the students who attend but she never has been the main focus...until now. Until she bursts through the group and sees the headmaster pushing Sebastian behind her while Jay grapples at the lapels of Doug's jacket and yells in his face.

 

 

"Jay!" Evie snaps.

 

 

Jay goes silent as he looks back at Evie, "He was _waiting_ here, Eves."

 

 

"Let him go." Evie orders, and Jay flashes him one last glare before he shoves Doug back and raises his hands to show his sign of innocence. "Go get in the car, we'll meet you there. Can you please just clear a path?"

 

 

"Of course." Jay nods as he looks to Doug. "This isn't over."

 

 

Evie ignores him as she rushes towards Sebastian who ducks under his headmaster's arm and easily collapses into Evie's ready embrace. The yelling, the flashes of cameras, and the panic slowly melt away as she holds her son to her and breathes him in; he's okay, he's here. A tear escapes and she is quick to pull away and wipe it away before she grabs Sebastian's hand and looks to meet the gaze of the headmaster.

 

 

The excitement of the moment seems to calm down as she gives a quick statement to the school security and assure them she has no intention to press charges, all she wants is to get Sebastian far away from here. By the time she is able to slip away from the commotion, she can feel the anxiety that rests low in her stomach as she looks down at Sebastian who holds tight to her finger with one hand while the other clutches at his mother's dress.

 

 

"Evie, wait!" Doug pleads as he dodges around the school security and latches onto his ex-girlfriend's wrist before he pulls her back. "I'm not asking a lot from you, Evie. I just want to meet him. Please."

 

 

"Doug, let me go." Evie hisses as she attempts to pull her arm away, but his grasp simply tightens as he shakes his head and clenches his jaw. "You've caused enough of a scene today, just let me go."

 

 

"Let my mommy go!"

 

 

Doug releases a cry of pain as his hand drops from her wrist to clutch her stomach where Sebastian had managed to land a kick. With a look of slight pride, Evie is quick to scoop her son onto her hip before she turns to disappear into the shower of flashing lights and questions. The sight of the cameras is so blinding that she can't even make out the shape of Doug as she slips into her car and orders him to drive; the further they get, the more she realizes that this has gone far enough.

 

 

-

 

 

"So, he's my dad?" Sebastian frowns.

 

 

Evie sighs as she brushes a hand through her son's messy damp hair, "I prefer to use the term _father_. Any man can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a dad. The man you saw today isn't the same man I loved a long, long time ago."

 

 

"He's the man who ran away cause he was scared though, huh?" Sebastian whispers, and Evie hesitates for only a moment before she slowly nods. "He was _really_ scary, Mama. He wanted to talk to me and he said you wouldn't let him."

 

 

"He's right, I told him not to talk to you," Evie confesses as she looks down at her son and catches his expression of confusion. "You're so young, my little prince. I wanted you to be old enough to _want_ to speak to him, I didn't want him to try and push his way into your life, baby."

 

 

"I don't want him." Sebastian declares as he locks his gaze with his mother's. "I like my family, I don't want anyone else. I have everyone I need. I have you, Uncle Jay, Uncle Carlos, and Mal."

 

 

"Mal?" Evie repeats with surprise in her tone.

 

 

"Mal makes you happy, and families are supposed to be happy." Sebastian explains as he gives a small shrug. "I didn't like her for like a whole five minutes cause I thought she was gonna steal you away from me."

 

 

"Oh, nobody could ever do that." Evie assures him with an adoring smile as she presses a kiss to the top of his head. "You are my entire world, Sebastian. You're my whole heart. I will _never_ put anyone above you."

 

 

Sebastian shrugs happily, "I know."

 

 

A lull falls between them as Evie scatters kisses along his head as they lay silently in his bed. She can feel the heaviness of his weight sinking as the exhaustion sets in and she can't help but think about Doug. She wonders if he realizes the damage he is causing, she wonders if he even cares. He was good to her once upon a time, but there was always that underline annoyance of how he acted around others; sometimes she felt like she was merely a prize to him. It wasn't until he was out the door and gone from her life that she realized that he wasn't the man she hoped he would be; he was and still is a coward.

 

 

"Is he gonna go away, Mama?" Sebastian asks in a sleepy tone.

 

 

"Who, baby?"

 

 

"The man." Sebastian yawns.

 

 

"I hope so. We'll talk about it more later, you need to get some sleep." Evie whispers as she drops one last kiss to his head before she pulls herself from beneath him. "Sleep well, my little prince. I love you."

 

 

"I love you, Mama." Sebastian mumbles as he tiredly wraps himself around his teddy bear and tugs at his blanket. "You're the best mommy ever."

 

 

The words stick with Evie as she flips on his nightlight and slips from his bedroom. For a moment, she lingers outside the door until she hears the beginnings of his soft snores. As soon as she is sure he's asleep, Evie makes her way to the kitchen and pours herself a glass of wine and allows the bitter alcohol to soothe her. She's barely three sips in when a knock disturbs her, and she considers just ignoring it.

 

 

For a moment, she simply lingers at the counter before she takes one last hearty sip that she savors and closes her eyes as a headache pounds at her temple. The knocks increase in intensity and Evie heaves a long breath as she rubs at her forehead before she sets her glass aside and patters towards the door. As soon as she peeks into the eyehole, her entire demeanor softens as she sees her girlfriend on the opposite side.

 

 

"Hey." Evie whispers as she opens the door and allows Mal to slip by. "I just managed to get Seb to fall asleep, he's..."

 

 

"What the hell _happened_?" Mal growls as she holds up her phone, and Evie gaps as she stares at the silent shaky video of Sebastian delivering a kick to Doug's stomach. "Why is he at Sebastian's school? Why did Seb do that?"

 

 

"He was defending me," Evie admits as she looks down at the red mark blossoming on her wrist, and Mal is quick to follow her line of sight. "Doug showed up at Sebastian's school, and Jay caught him. By the time I got there, Jay was yelling at Doug and..."

 

 

"Did he do this to you?" Mal murmurs as she pulls Evie's wrist to her lips, and her jaw flexes as her girlfriend gives a short nod. "Evie, I promised you I'd play nice with this guy but I'm _done_. Nobody gets to hurt you and get away with it."

 

 

Evie whimpers, "I don't know what to do."

 

 

"I'm calling my lawyer." Mal shrugs as she lowers Evie's hand and looks over the red mark on her wrist. "Tomorrow we're going to meet up with her and discuss all of this, and we're going to keep him away from Sebastian."

 

 

"I just...I can't lose my son..."

 

 

"Doug is _not_ going to take Sebastian away from you. Away from us." Mal whispers as she brushes a strand of hair from Evie's face before she cups her chin. "I will do whatever it takes to insure that."

 

 

Evie sighs softly, "Will you be there? If this goes to court?"

 

 

"Are you kidding me?" Mal scoffs as she runs a thumb over the dimple in Evie's chin. "I will be your own personal cheering section and your bodyguard. But I won't let this go to court, I won't make you go through that."

 

 

"Yeah?" Evie frowns.

 

 

"Yeah." Mal smiles. "You and me...we're a package deal, alright?"

 

 

Evie collapses into Mal and sighs softly, "Thank you."

 

 

"Anything for you." Mal chuckles. "We're going to fight this, E."

 

 

"And win?" Evie mumbles into her hair.

 

 

"And win."


End file.
